We are the only owners of a 1999 Subaru Forester. For the past 6 months it has been "losing" oil, but with no solid explanation. Our mechanic found no leaks, left it running on idle for close to 30 minutes, and saw no black smoke or oil loss.
It tends to lose oil suddenly. We dilligently check the oil, and suddenly find it down about a quart for no particular reason. We discovered the problem originally when the oil light came on, and at that time it was nearly bone dry. Since that time we have been hyper vigilant about the oil level.
The car has < 85,000 miles, and we hope to drive it for much longer. No other symptoms or problems have arisen other than the drop in the oil level. We hope to take this car overseas, but don't know if we're driving a time bomb that will eventually die out on us.
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
If you haven't changed the oil filter in the last six months, try changinging it. If the filtering media happens to dislocate it may cause oil flow obstruction and excessive oil usage.
What brand are you using? Try something better.
Also, since the car has 85k you may consider using a slighlty higher viscosity oil- it helps with normal increased oil consumption.
been "losing" oil, but with no solid explanation. Our mechanic found no leaks, left it running on idle for close to 30 minutes, and saw no black smoke or oil loss.
it down about a quart for no particular reason. We discovered the problem originally when the oil light came on, and at that time it was nearly bone dry. Since that time we have been hyper vigilant about the oil level.
symptoms or problems have arisen other than the drop in the oil level. We hope to take this car overseas, but don't know if we're driving a time bomb that will eventually die out on us.
Make sure the PCV hoses/valve are clear and working. The mechanic may have checked but ? Also, a compression or leakdown test could locate a cylinder with low compression pointing to a localized problem like a broken ring or something.
In the Honda forum complaints like this appear occasionally... although the increased consumption isn't usually so sporadic. The affected engines are relatively new (all in the first 100K miles IIRC) and if the problem is found it is rarely reported to us :-( However, the only cases I know of where it was found and reported it was a broken piston ring that showed up when the engine was torn down. I think the cat converters are suppressing the smoke we'd normally see.
In my experience, the Subaru dipstick often gives false "high" readings. It's possibly that oil is draining back into the crankcase over the bottom of the dipstick tube, and settling on the dipstick. I ingnore all high readings, and repeatedly dip until I get a sensible reading. I've found that there is a consistent low level that can be obtained in this way. Repeated dipping seems to clear away oil from around the bottom of the tube. HTH
This ain't no problem with the dipstick reading the dipstick... If you re-read the original post, notice that the oil light came on. The crankcase was nearly bone-dry.
The oil's going somewhere...
IMHO, if you're going overseas with your car, get a different car first. Cars that use that much oil that sporadically can't be trusted by definition.
Yes, I read that the crankcase is dry; perhaps it's because the dipstick is giving a "high" reading when in actual fact the oil level is low. If the dipstick shows high then he wont add any oil. You don't suddenly lose a lot of oil without some visible sign; usually a great deal of white smoke (oil smoke is white, not black).
The oil-burning vehicles I see on the road trail blue smoke with a strong odor of burnt oil. White "smoke" usually smells like antifreeze and indicates a blown head gasket. In either case, I usually see them stuck on the shoulder witihin a few miles.
If engine runs great cold, especially at idle (you can really tell a bad piston ring then) then it must be pcv stuff. If you are a manual tranny, try no engine braking, that can reveal an air bypass problem that pcv can't keep up with, if oil consumption slows/stops without engine braking. My original learning of this was on an old subaru, it changed slightly on the injection models because of air bypass. All the while it was my habit of engine braking, creating an oil eater, seemingly all at once, no leaks, no smoke. Just low oil on the dispstick....
Does it have a turbo ? I did some work on my WRX this week .Installed a aftermarket down pipe and a Prodrive intercooler Y pipe .The Y pipe goes from the turbo into the intercooler. Upon pulling the intercooler, there was a good bit of oil inside the stock Y pipe.With further investigation i find out this a normal thing for turbo charged engines. They do make oil catch cans to catch that oil before it gets in there. It was a good ammount, if you wiped your finger inside the pipe it would be enough to run down your finger. I can't tell you how the oil gets in there though. But it must play a part in some subarus oil consumption.
been "losing" oil, but with no solid explanation. Our mechanic found no leaks, left it running on idle for close to 30 minutes, and saw no black smoke or oil loss.
that will eventually die out on us.
WOW, we have the same problem with our 1999 Forester, although it's been going on for about 2-3 years. I think it had about 85,000 miles on it when this problem started -- now it has about 130,000 on it.
I've had it checked for leaks several times but they're never found anything. The mechanic suggested an "oil consumption test" -- 1,000 miles after an oil change, I brought it back to have the level checked -- but he found that my oil consumption was "normal."
Like yours, our Subaru's oil loss seems sporadic. On average, I replace about 3 quarts of oil every 8-10 weeks, which is an incredible amount, I know. In the 1990s, I had a 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger -- 8 cylinders-- that burned nowhere near that amount despite constant leaks.
If you find a solution, let me know. In the meantime, if our experience is anything to go by, the oil loss is alarming but not terminal. At least not yet.
Hmmmmm. This sounds familliar to me too! In fact, after reading this, I checked the oil in my '99 Forester. Down
1.5 quarts! Aga> >
has been "losing" oil, but with no solid explanation. Our mechanic found no leaks, left it running on idle for close to 30 minutes, and saw no black smoke or oil loss.
Actually, there's ALWAYS an explanation if you can dig deeply enough w/ the right diagnostic tools... here's only ONE of many that might apply:
IF a vehicle's driven only very short distances such that the oil can't fully heat up and evaporate water (from condensation and combustion), there can be a buildup of water in the oil pan. It will get churned into the oil, but won't show on the dipstick as the frothy foam one expects from a blown HG. One "symptom" is your car "grows" oil... in other words, it NEVER seems to use any, and OFTEN the level on the stick rises. I'd think this is a far more common occurrence in cold, damp climes than the relatively warm, dry environment here in SoCal.
Now, for whatever reason, the vehicle's taken out and driven at high speeds and for some distance. Everything gets up to temp, that "milkshake" concoction in the oil pan can't do a very good job of sealing and lubricating, and it gets burned off rather quickly. The owner notices the level has dropped dramatically and worries. Often he tops off the oil, and it "mysteriously" quits using oil. A proper oil change will generally give the same results.
Perfect example is my '88 Toyota p/u. It was purchased new 12/31/87 by a senior citizen who drove it until he passed on, and I got it from his widow on 12/31/05, when it had barely over 63k miles (do the math: considering brakes and tires (which were at least the second set) were worn thin, it didn't go very far "per trip!) I got it home, checked all the fluids, all were "full" and the first night I had it, I had to press it into "emergency" service for a job in place of the company car. I put ~200 miles on in my normal four hour run, and the next morning, I rechecked everything. Imagine my chagrin to find the oil 1/3 qt low! I topped it off again, drove another day or two, then did an oil change. Since then it's been using about 1 qt/4k miles in the 11k miles I've put on it in the last five months.
Just one of many similar examples. They might not apply to your car, but it's something to think about when someone tells you there's "no explanation!"
There is a plethora of small things or even plain quirks that can explain why things are happening.
I, for example, have experienced a completely random increase in oil consumption and slight also random overheating because of what apperared to be a malfunctioning oil filter. I cannot even say for sure, as I didn't do a thorough post-mortem on the dead filter (casual inspection showed visual signs of dislodged filter media, and something was definetely loose/moving inside the filter- who knows what?) but putting a new quality filter made the problem go away.
Big headache, and plenty of worry went away for a measly $5.00.
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